Ravensong: A Natural and Fabulous History of Ravens and Crows [Paperback]

Catherine Feher-Elston (Author), Lawrence Ormsby (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1991

From the raven's role as trickster in Native American religion to its capacity to captivate ornithologists and biologists, the raven is an archetype in myth, dream, song, and ritual.

In this beautifully illustrated study, Catherine Feher-Elston looks at ravens and crows in the contexts of Native American folklore, history, and science. Through interviews with Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest and other native peoples, and drawing on the most recent ornithological research, Feher-Elston offers a well-rounded consideration of this enigmatic species, bringing to light its roles as messenger, symbol, harbinger, and totem.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Catherine Feher-Elston works extensively with Native American issues and is the author of Children of Sacred Ground: America's Last Indian Wars. She has participated in United Nations studies on the problems of indigenous peoples. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Northland Pub; 1st edition (September 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873585275
• ISBN-13: 978-0873585279
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,208,072 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I admit I was irritated..., June 5, 2006

By 

Fenchurch (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ravensong: A Natural And Fabulous History Of Ravens And Crows (Paperback)

when I first began reading this book. I expected that this book was going to be a mix of scientific report and anecdotal evidence illustrating the intelligence of ravens. I was wrong.

As I began to read through Feher-Elston's story, I was annoyed by her persistence in discussing religion and spirituality in connection with the raven. However, as I read on, I found myself more and more reluctant to set this book down. Before I knew it, I was reading on voraciously, completely consumed by the story.

Feher-Elston very successfully weaves together science, history, and spirituality, guiding the reader through many different and equally important perspectives on these birds. Through her exploration of the importance of Raven in Native American religion, the ghost dance, and creation stories, it feels as if one somehow begins to grasp the gravity of this bird through the wisdom of ages of man.

Folded into this story of history and legend, are the modern scientific truths of these birds. The author offers the reader the benefit of humanity's whole history of observations of these birds, and layers it with modern scientific knowledge. Through this book, the reader is left with a greater scientific and emotional understanding of the both the corvid, and of all of man's hopes and fears that it embodies.

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ravensong is back, thank heavens!, December 9, 2004

By 

Edgar Walksalong "Walksalong" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ravensong: A Natural And Fabulous History Of Ravens And Crows (Paperback)

One of the best integrated treatments of Nature, Catherine Feher-Elston's Ravensong: A Natural and Fabulous History of Ravens and Crows,is at last available to a greater public through Trcher/Penguin. This lyrical treatment of ravens, crows and their relationships with people and other animals is fascinating and beautiful. Anyone who reads this work will never look a crows and ravens in exactly the same way again. This is a great book, and anyone with a love of birds, animals, science, literature of mythology will enjoy it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great illustrations!, November 4, 2006

By 

CeceliaBird (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ravensong: A Natural And Fabulous History Of Ravens And Crows (Paperback)

This is a good book for people who want to learn about ravens and crows. For more knowledgable readers, there's not much new information, but it's a very nicely written book. The black and white illustrations are special, however, and the book makes a good addition to any bird library for that reason--they beautifully capture the 'crowness' of these magnificient birds.